Plenty of Blame to Go Around for Fannie, Freddie

How the Pair Grew
So Big, as Dangers
Mounted, Morphed

For years, Washington officialdom enabled Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the congressionally chartered mortgage companies, to grow until they dominated the U.S. market.

Now lawmakers are confronting the result: a crisis of confidence in the two companies that raises questions about whether they can make it through the deep downturn that has struck the real-estate market. And nobody wants to get stuck with the blame.